Still Life by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Still Life
Page 88
"The ledger is sacred. It is not a shelf. It is not a trend. It is a mausoleum of meaning, and I am its curator."
He removes a folded parchment from his coat. It is blank.
"I have read “Infinite Jest” three times. Once as a skeptic. Once as a mourner. Once as a prince."
He turns to face the empty chairs.
"It is not a book. It is a system. And systems do not belong in libraries. They belong in rituals."
He places the blank parchment on the lectern.
"I will not canonize it. I will not dismiss it. I will let it haunt the margins."
He nods once, to no one in particular.
"Let the ledger remain intact. Let the jest remain infinite. Let the reader decide."
He exits without flourish. The chandeliers dim. Queen Maxima Furrbaby yawns from the balcony.
The Marginalia Tribunal Held in the Index Alcove,
beneath the chandelier of footnotes.